1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for applying pressure to a puncture site of an artery to arrest blood flow from the puncture upon removal of an instrument from the artery and particularly to a quick adjusting clamping mechanism for rapidly and finely controlling the pressure applied to a puncture site of an artery.
2. Background Information
It is well known in medical practice to penetrate an artery, such as a femoral artery, of a human by various instruments to extract a blood sample, inject fluids, insert instruments for diagnostic purposes and other procedures. The penetration of the artery produces an opening or wound and upon removal of the penetrating instrument bleeding occurs. It is necessary to apply pressure to the area of penetration particularly the puncture site to insure coagulation of the blood.
One of the methods employed is applying pressure to the area by an attendant's hand or fingers. This has been found to be less than satisfactory since it generally requires applying pressure for a number of minutes and the attendant is unable to perform other duties relating to the care of the patient. Further it is often difficult for the attendant to apply consistent pressure throughout the time period required.
To free the attendant for other duties and to provide a more consistent controlled clamping, mechanical clamping devices have been utilized to apply pressure to the puncture site to control bleeding. The clamping devices have a configured pad that is forcibly applied to the area of the puncture site to provide the necessary pressure to control the bleeding from the puncture.
One of the problems with the clamping device is the time required to place, position and adjust the clamp. The clamp must be positioned so that the pressure pad is strategically placed in reference to the puncture site so that the pressure pad may be forcibly placed against the puncture site at the desired time. A typical clamp has a base which is slid under the thigh of the patient to maintain the clamp in position. A vertical support member extends from the base and a lateral arm is movably mounted on the support with the arm extending over the base. The arm will thus be extended over the thigh when the clamp is positioned relative to the patient. A pressure pad is mounted on the end of the extended arm and extends downward in relation to the arm. The arm is pivoted and adjusted vertically on the vertical support and the arm is adjusted laterally relative to the vertical support to position the pressure pad over the puncture site. The arm is preferably positioned at a distance above the thigh so as not to hinder access to the puncture site, either visually or for instrument manipulation. The pressure pad is mounted on an adjusting screw so that the pad may be adjusted relative to the arm and thus may be advanced or retracted relative to the puncture site when the clamp is in position. The fine adjustment afforded by the adjusting screw provides control over the pressure applied to the puncture site by the pressure pad. Adjustment to either advance or retract the pressure pad any distance is, however, slow and time consuming. In many situations the adjusting screw must be rotated through a great number of revolutions to just advance the pressure pad so that it will contact the puncture site. Similarly, the adjusting screw must be rotated many revolutions to retract the pad away from the puncture site.